F1 Italian GP Drama: Ricciardo Apologizes After Hulkenberg Clash, Tsunoda Left Frustrated

Daniel Ricciardo on clash with Nico Hulkenberg: “I believed there was enough room; I said sorry”

Daniel Ricciardo responds to the incident with Haas during the F1 Italian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he offered an apology to Nico Hulkenberg after the two of them collided on the first lap of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Ricciardo clashed with Hulkenberg while fighting for position in the middle of the pack during the first lap of Sunday's race at Monza, specifically at Turn 8.

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he believed there was enough room, but then he experienced a collision. This incident resulted in Nico Hulkenberg's Haas being pushed onto the dirt, allowing his teammate Kevin Magnussen to overtake him.

The Australian driver received a five-second penalty for the incident, but later had to endure an additional 10-second penalty because one of his mechanics made contact with his car during the initial penalty at his pitstop.

Ricciardo concluded a challenging race at his home Grand Prix for the Red Bull team, finishing in 13th place.

"In the end, we just couldn't keep up today, penalties aside," he remarked.

"We gave it a shot, and I was really liking the close racing in the beginning, but then I collided with Nico at Turn 8."

"After the race, I talked with him and explained that I believed there was enough space between us. However, I felt the collision and realized I hadn't given him sufficient room. I apologized for that."

"It's challenging because you push yourself to the limit, yet even the tiniest details can have a significant impact."

"The car was performing satisfactorily, and we gave it our all with the resources available. From Friday afternoon until today, I aimed to extract the best possible performance from the vehicle."

"From my perspective, I'm feeling much improved this weekend, and we were nearly able to earn some points."

Tsunoda Feels 'Frustrated'

According to team representative Laurent Mekies, the Italian Grand Prix for RB was strongly influenced by Nico Hulkenberg. A clash between the Haas driver and Yuki Tsunoda led to the Japanese driver's race coming to an early end.

"I'm quite disappointed; it's unfortunate that my race ended just a few laps in because of a collision with Nico," Tsunoda remarked.

"I attempted to give plenty of room, but it appeared he froze up, leading to a loss of control and a collision with me."

“We regrettably had to withdraw the car from the race due to damage sustained to its floor."

"I noticed it immediately and attempted to keep going, but the vehicle was skidding and I just couldn't control it."

“We’re heading to Baku and Singapore next, and our vehicle is expected to do well at those locations. We’re optimistic about having successful weekends there.”

Mekies is frustrated with the Tsunoda incident because it cost him important track time with the newly updated RB car that was brought to Monza.

"Regarding today's race, it could be argued that Hulkenberg set the pace. Daniel received a five-second penalty for pushing him off the track. After that, Nico collided with Yuki, which resulted in us having to retire the car," he stated.

“One of the most aggravating things about Yuki’s retirement is that we missed out on 40 laps that could have helped us better comprehend the new updates we implemented at this event.”

"Daniel was given an additional 10-second penalty because we failed to properly implement the initial one."

"We must evaluate our processes in this situation and take lessons from the error made today. Although these incidents occur, the performance of our pit crew has been outstanding overall this season."

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